SPAC Fairness Opinions in 2026: What Changed and Why It Matters
The SPAC market in 2026 and the renewed case for independent fairness opinions The blank check structure has returned to the public markets on very different terms than it left them. Roughly 140 SPAC IPOs priced in 2025, and issuance has continued to build through the first half of 2026, on terms that bear little […]
The Carrying Value Question: An Introduction to Intangible Asset Impairment Testing
When the Balance Sheet Becomes the Story A portfolio company loses its largest customer. Revenue falls sharply in the back half of the year, and the finance team flags the event as a potential impairment indicator. By the time the external auditors arrive, management has produced an internal memo estimating that the customer relationship asset, originally […]
FASB Reconsiders Contractual Sale Restrictions (ASU 2022-03): What the Proposal Means for Locked Token Valuations
The July 2026 proposal reinforces a market-participant approach that Houlihan Capital has applied to cryptoasset portfolios for years Executive Takeaway In 2022, the FASB issued ASU 2022-03, concluding that a contractual restriction on the sale of an equity security should not reduce fair value when the restriction is viewed as a characteristic of the holder rather than […]
Enhancing Valuation Confidence: The Role of Positive Assurance in Portfolio Valuation
When the Mark Gets Questioned The moment arrives in different forms. An auditor returns to a fair value conclusion with a request for additional support on the methodology applied to a Level 3 position. An institutional limited partner, conducting its own due diligence on the fund, asks how the manager arrived at a particular mark, and the answer that seemed […]
Personal Goodwill in Business Transactions: Not Just a Valuation Question — A Planning Imperative
Consider a professional services firm where three client relationships — each cultivated personally by the founder over fifteen years — account for 65% of annual revenue. The contracts are month-to-month. The clients call the founder directly. No formal account management structure exists. When this business goes to market, what is a buyer actually acquiring? It is […]